Archive for October, 2015

Her staunch friend had thought of everything. Nothing like a good meal to face up to death. In their infinite wisdom, both French and Italian traditions prescribe a feast after a funeral. Even more reason for one after an assassination. So he takes her for dinner to the best local eatery. Sébillon, famed for its leg of lamb.

There's a long running joke in our house that my Mum could make a whole chicken feed two people, possibly three at a push, because of her less than stellar carving skills. I digress. Poulet Bonne Femme owners Gavin & Sara have realised that there's loads of people who couldn't carve a roast to save their life so they've launched a programme of carving masterclasses at Salt Cafe, Avoca, Monkstown, Co. Dublin.

I’ve been making variations of these pancakes for years and the basic batter can be adapted with addition of all sorts of ingredients such as nuts, seeds, chocolate and berries. Store-bought oat flour can be used here, but I normally blitz up oats in a food processor until they are fine consistency. Continue reading »

Last Summer we packed our backpacks and went on an adventure with the two smaller boys (the teen elected to stay behind). Travelling on a budget with kids is actually easier than you would think, providing you stick to some of our tried and tested tips!
Research, research, research.
Use Trip Advisor, online chat forums, and/or ask friends and families to see what they would recommend. However, I’m sticking a caveat in here! Be wary of some online reviews. Continue reading »

With the harvest in, I spoke with some organic tillage farmers about their crop yield and quality, as well as the price they get paid for it. As it happens, some of the beef producers had something to say too.

So there you are, after the recession and wiped out. Not the time for a knee jerk reaction. Count to ten, maybe. Well Frank Keane’s count to ten took him eight months and his decision took him from shock to choc!

For twenty one years before the recession left him high (low, maybe) and dry, Frank had dealt in collectable ceramics in Kinsale, in the same premises where he now makes Koko chocolates. Continue reading »

Making pasta from scratch might seem like a whole lot of fuss but I can’t encourage you enough to give it a go! It’s not as hard as you might think and you only need a handful of ingredients. Ravioli is a great place to start if you’ve never made pasta before as it can be filled with a host of fillings and ingredients.

I’ve filled mine with roasted pumpkin and ricotta which is a match made in heaven! Continue reading »

My last Borefts post looks at the British and German offerings, and one Spaniard.
Alien Claw by Naparbier is no stranger to the taps of Dublin but I’d always missed it so when it showed up, unbilled, on the brewery’s bar at Borefts I jumped on it. It’s a Belgian-style IPA, a beer type which I like the idea of but is rarely done to my satisfaction: Troubadour Magma and Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch being very notable exceptions. Continue reading »

Noble Grape Sauvignon Blanc
Graham Norton in on the act!And Cono Sur’s Silencio best in Chile.

Sauvignon blanc is one of the best known and best loved grapes on the planet. The Loire Valley is regarded as its heartland but it thrives too in New Zealand, especially in Marlborough, and in Chile and indeed in many other places around the world.

And it is to New Zealand that West Cork born Graham Norton went to try his hand at making a bottle. Continue reading »

Whenever I want an easy lunch I always make double quantities for dinner the night before. What easier way to make up a lunch than to grab out a tray of prepared roasted vegetables and my lunch is ready in minutes. Why not try making this bulgur salad with roasted vegetables?
It’s never a hardship to prepare extra vegetables when I’m in a food preparation groove at the sink. Continue reading »

There was a bit of an odd arrangement with regard to the American beers at Borefts this year, where one brewer had a standalone stall as part of the main festival in the De Molen brewery yard while up at the windmill a selection of other US beers were pouring from the restaurant’s own taps. It’s presumably something to do with the windmill restaurant being leased out to a third party these days. Continue reading »

Halloween, celebrated on October 31st, is one of those true Celtic traditions that has become a world-wide celebrated occasion. Historically, it is based on the Celtic festival of Samhain which is derived from Old Irish and means roughly “summer’s end”. Continue reading »

This is a superfood according to Fiona Falconer on the Wild About Website. Maybe so, but in any case it sure tastes good. Smeared it over a piece of hake (from Ballycotton Seafood in the English Market) and it certainly enhanced the experience. Our latest Taste of the Week, bought in the market during the recent Dingle Food Festival, is a versatile little gem and may also be used on chicken, lamb, veggies and pasta. Continue reading »

Among the beers I was most looking forward to sampling at Borefts 2015 were those of Swedish gypsy brewer Omnipollo. I’ve enjoyed several of the collaborations they’ve done with others and they have a very good reputation among the crafterati. Continue reading »

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Every cook we know loves their iPad (or lusts after one) for clipping, reading and cooking from online recipes right in the kitchen. Well, Clickcase.ie has what may be the ultimate kitchen gadget for iPad lovers: the Speck Handyshell slots around your iPad 2 so it can be hung from any rack, drawer or cabinet knob, keeping your iPad at eye level and safe from spills and mess. Genius!

Clickcase, Irish retailer of brilliant iPad and iPhone accessories, is giving one crimble red Handyshell away to a FoodFight.ie reader just in time for Christmas. To enter, all you have to do is head over to the Clickcase Facebook page before December 8th and tell us why you love your iPad or iPhone in the kitchen!

This November The Great Irish Bake is back and Kitchen Hero Donal Skehan is helping out with sharing recipes and promoting the event. The Great Irish Bake is in aid of helping sick and seriously ill children get the treatment they need. Head over to The Great Irish Bake to register online and be in the chance of winning a trip to New York when you help raise funds for Temple Street Children’s University Hospital. The site also has hints, tips, recipes and all that goes with an event like this.

This is the Facebook for The Great Irish Bake and of course the Twitter hashtag is: #thegreatirishbake

The Great Irish Bake organisers have shared a recipe with us and also a picture of Donal Skehan with his kids from his first marriage. Some of this might be a lie.

The Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a standalone mixture beat together the butter and sugar. Add in the egg and
mix through.
3. Using a wooden spoon mix through the flour, baking powder, salt, mixed spice
and vanilla extract until you have a biscuit dough.
4. Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and roll out to about 1cm in thickness.
5. Cut out biscuit shapes, place on the lined baking tray, then using a smaller cutter
or a small knife cut out the center of each cookie.
6. Sprinkle the crushed sweets into the centre of the cookie and place in the oven
7. Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire
wrack.

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